Search This Blog

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

VGM Saturdays #284: Halloween is Cancelled

With the COVID-19 pandemic running rampant across America and cases spiking in other countries, the CDC has strongly advised against having the little ones go out trick or treating. For Halloween 2020, I suggest taking a spooky game for a spin or listening to some horror inspired tunes. Lucky for you, I got six of those blow.

Stage 7: Den - Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES)

Also known as the inferior version of Rondo of Blood. Yes, yes, the PCE version of this game is miles better. But dang it, Dracula X still has an outstanding soundtrack. I was gonna go with the excellent version of Blood Tears but Den sounds really good on the SNES hardware.

Iron Horse, Iron Terror (Queen Bee Stage) - Darkstalkers 3 (ARC)

Halloween themed Street Fighter, some say. Regardless, I really like the art style and character designs of this series and with Capcom releasing so many different compilations of late, Darkstalkers is long overdue. I nearly forgotten how awesome the beats are to this series, the third game in particular.

Big Boo's Haunt - Super Mario 64 (N64)

I've never liked Ghosts Houses. Boos were irksome foes to deal with in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World went and gave the little buggers their own course in almost every world. Super Mario 64 not only has a whole course with Boos of different sizes floating around, it also has a piano that I'm sure freaked more than a few people out back in the day. I recently saw it spook my nephew. Yeah, I could have told him in advance but that would have deprived me of a good chuckle.

Mine Cart Madness - Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

The mine cart levels could test the patience of even the most sane individual. Jump too soon, ya die. Jump to late, ya die. Memorization was key to getting through these levels. As touch as the mine cart stages could be in the SNES DKC trilogy, they don't have anything on DKC Returns or Tropical Freeze. The feats of wizardry you have to pull off to survive in those levels can be insane.

Sandopolis Zone Act 2 - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (GEN)

Act 1 of Sandopolis has you trekking across the sands of Angel Island. For act 2, you go inside a pyramid, unleash some ghosts that became nightmare fuel if you don't find a light switch fast. The more eerie version of Sandopolis really sells that feeling of discomfort as you play through this level.

Key Cavern (Level 3) - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (NSW)

A remake of one of my favorite Zelda games, the Switch version improved upon the original while keeping the spirit of 1993 game well in tact. Even on the old GB hardware Level 3 sounded super creepy to me. That same unsettling feeling is echoed through this arrangement. 

VGM Saturdays Database

No comments: